Modern Times Rock n' Roll
by dynamitewithalaserbeam
Summary: WWRY. Set about a month after Wembley. Based mainly around Scara's&Gaz's relationship, because I love them. Read inside for more
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Oh man. I really have not been on this site in a while; looking back at my other fics, I realized just how much could change in a year (I hope!). Anyways, I've decided to start a longer, and essentially better FanFiction to be posted in the WWRY section—that's _actually_ WWRY.**

**Usual disclaimer goes here. I don't own song lyrics that I didn't write, or the characters from WWRY that I also didn't write. Get it? Further chapters will be longer with far less passive voicing.**

**On we go.**

He opened the drawer that stood next to his makeshift bed. Making sure for a fourth time that the door was properly shut, he took out a blue velvet box. It was a deep blue, a blue that could hold in too many things; secrets, fear, confusion—it was the colour of her eyes. With a contented sigh, Galileo Figaro finally opened the small jewellery box that had been resting in the palm of his hand.

In the box laid a ring. An elegant, costly diamond ring—he feared she would turn up her nose at it, insisting it was too GaGa-ish, too impersonal. This wasn't true—Galileo had spent countless hours in various jewellery shops to find _just_ the right one. After a few weeks, he proudly picked out a white gold band with a simple diamond at the top. Although he wouldn't admit it, the main reason he thought that the ring was so perfect was because the jeweller insisted it was from the 20th century—the century of rock and roll. He planned to give the ring to Scaramouche that night—but, in traditional Gaz fashion, he knew he'd back out and vow to pop the question the next night, as he had done every day for the past week.

His mind started to drift. This wasn't unusual for Galileo, the Dreamer; however this time, his mind was drifting to his guitar goddess. It had been a month since Scaramouche had blown him away with her guitar at Wembley. It had been a month since Globalsoft was defeated, since rock n' roll came back, and since freedom existed once more. He was thinking about their first meeting, their first night, first fight, first makeup—all of their firsts, really. He couldn't wait to start more firsts with her. After all, she was the first person who understood him, the first who actually cared for him, the one who kept him alive every day. Nobody had thought that there was any way that Galileo, loner and social outcast of his earlier school days could find love. Wondering how he could get so lucky made him want to see this woman that completed his life. He quickly hid his precious box and left the room to go look for her.

Just as he was leaving the door to his and Scara's room, Scaramouche came flying into him, a mess of black fishnets and wild dark hair.

"My God, Gazza Fizza! Where have you been? The phone's been ringing off the hook—still don't know why the hell Meat insisted we got one of those here—with people who want to book you into recording studios and have us all do live performances. These people have been calling for a MONTH, Gaz. Remember a month ago? We only saved the world from Globalsoft! Ever since then, everyone wants to talk with you and all you're doing is rejecting it and backing away. Why, Gaz? Why?" Frustrated, Scara brushed past him with a final glare and sat down on their bed.

As he often was, Galileo was at a loss for words. There was definitely no way he could tell her the truth while she was this worked up—that he had been trying to work up the courage to ask her to marry him. But, he couldn't lie to her. He could never lie to her, especially when she was mad. He knew that there was something else behind her sudden rage that has been bugging her since—well, since about the time of Wembley now that he thought about it.

"W-well, Scara," Gaz was stuttering, like he always did when he was nervous. "I've uh, been…well, _dreaming_ a lot lately since Wembley, a-and…I've been writing it down. Yeah! I've been hearing the words from the past, and I had to write them down before I forgot." Satisfied that his response had a bit of truth to it, Galileo smiled proudly at his girlfriend. Judging from the scowl on her face, he could tell that she was too preoccupied with her thoughts to tell that he was lying through his teeth. He couldn't dare ask her what was wrong—she'd tell him when she was ready.

"Humph. Well I s'pose that's alright, as long as…oh bloody hell," Scara ran up from her hunched position on the bed down the hall.

Since he didn't see or hear anything peculiar, Gaz figured that she'd left the coffee on too long or something. She'd done that before and ended up somehow burning the pot. Gaz shrugged and started wondering what could be bothering his Scaramouche. Whatever it was had to be either very big, or very small—perhaps she was nervous about telling him, or maybe it was just something so minor that she didn't think he'd care about anyways. He _did_ care though, no matter how stupid the reason was—the point was that it was bothering _her_, and he wanted to help, or make it go away. Anything to make Scara happier, he would do.

It had crossed his mind a few times that maybe he was her problem. As Scaramouche had pointed out numerous times, he hadn't quite been himself lately. Nobody could ever find him when they needed him, and on the rare occasion that he _was_ found, he was withdrawn and seemed like he was a million miles away. Every other Bohemian had passed it off as him being the Dreamer, figuring he was dreaming up more stuff from the past. Scara wasn't fooled though—like Gaz, she knew there was something bothering her partner. Unlike Gaz, she had confronted him about it but never pushed to get the real reason. Because of this, Galileo felt that her problem was far too big for her to deal with alone. If she wouldn't tell him, he hoped to Freddie Mercury and back that she'd tell Meat. Then maybe he could bribe the information out of her with some newly rediscovered chocolate.

Soon his mind drifted off to their daily routine. Early in the morning, Scaramouche would head out to "sort stuff out." After that, she was "spending time with the girls" until Gaz was asleep. He had tried waiting up for her many times, but he could never keep his eyes open long enough. It was as though she was by his door waiting for him to fall asleep before she went in.

Little did he know that this is exactly what she did. He wouldn't understand why until much later.

He also wondered if she was using excuses to get away from the world, like he was doing. Maybe she just needed time to think about the rock revolution, or their relationship, or whatever it was that had been bugging her so much.

Looking up at the clock, he awakened from his dazed thoughts. It was late afternoon; Scara should be "spending time with the girls" about now. More curious than ever, Gaz decided to go track down Meat in hopes of finding Scara. He kicked on his running shoes and started heading over to the North sides of the Heartbreak Hotel.


	2. Chapter 2

Galileo didn't have to go very far to find Meat. He heard her voice from her room in the hall, talking with Madonna (and he assumed Scaramouche) about a new-old Bohemian. Corey had been captured by Khashoggi's crew about three years ago, but had escaped and had been living in another shelter just outside of Globalsoft's territory. He had come back after Wembley, when he knew it was safe. Galileo listened carefully to what the girls were saying.

"I'unno, Mads. This Corey character…I really think that _this_ one's one of the lasting spies. Don'tcha think his story is a bit far-fetched at least? And— "

Madonna cut her off. "Meat, honey, you think everyone's a spy." Galileo smiled to himself when he heard that, remembering when he and Scara had first met Meat and she was convinced that _he_ was a spy. "B'sides, Scara seems to like him, and you know what a sceptic she is. Go easy on the guy, and don't scare him off like you did the last few."

Meatloaf squirmed as she remembered what Scara had told her about Corey. For once, Meat didn't _really_ think this one was a spy—this time, it was purely to keep Scara's information a secret. "Well," she started off, not wanting to give away too much. "They do, er, have a bit of a history together I s'pose…" She remembered how the conversation started, and went back to the whole spy act. "But there's still something weird about the guy."

"Of course there is, he's a Bohemian!" Madonna laughed. "Really, Meat. You're too obsessed with this whole Secret Police thing. Now let's go find Macca and bribe some chocolate from him. Or espresso. Screw the freedom and the music: those two things are definitely the major perks of defeating Globalsoft."

Galileo heard the two girls walk closer to the door that he had his ear pressed against. It was clear that Scaramouche wasn't with them; so where was she? He quickly walked down the corridor back to his room, feeling the need to be alone again.

He had met Corey a few weeks ago, briefly. At five-foot-six, he was quite a bit shorter than Gaz. Galileo recalled their meeting; he was introduced to a short man in his early twenties with spiky blond hair and a well-built body. Something about the man reminded him of Scaramouche, although he couldn't quite place it. On the other hand, nearly everything reminded him of Scara in some way so he passed it off without a second thought. Now, however…_Scara seems to like him._ Those five words kept repeating themselves in Galileo's head. Corey hadn't been at the Heartbreak for long; and he knew how long it took for Scara to get over her initial dislike of everyone she met. There was no way she could actually like the guy, unless she had spent all of her time with him since he got there—or at least, most of her time. Now that Gaz thought about it, she hadn't been acting like herself since he came. He thought a little harder and remembered that it had started a few days _after_ he came. Enough time to decide whether she liked him or not.

_They have a bit of a history together._ Meat's statement let Galileo know that she knew more than he did—but it also sounded like she wasn't about to tell what she knew to anyone. But what could it mean? Gaz assumed that Scara had known Corey from before, but how? Was he merely an acquaintance, or was he something more? It was the second thing that scared him. He couldn't—_couldn't_—lose Scara. She had let him know many times that the Dreamer was nothing without his bad-arsed babe. Gaz, although he would never admit it to anyone, knew it was true. If anything happened to Scaramouche to take her away from him…he shook off the thought. _Maybe he was a family friend or something. Yeah, that could explain it. But why would that be so much of a secret? And why would Scara be spending all of her time with him? _The more he thought, the more worried and worked up he got.

Just as things were about to get even more confusing in his head—a few random lyrics kept popping in and out of his thoughts—he heard his door open. Thinking it was Scaramouche at first, he leapt up with a huge grin on his face. The expression of happiness, however, was soon traded for surprise. Instead of seeing Scara bolting in his room, he saw…

Britney Spears.

"What…the…fuck," Galileo's mouth stayed wide open as he muttered those words. This _couldn't_ be Brit; he was dead. Right? And why would he suddenly be showing up at Galileo's door? How did he even know which door—

Brit grinned. "What, did I interrupt something? Scara's good at dashing into the closet fast, isn't she?"

Galileo felt a tugging feeling in his heart when Brit said this. Brit must've noticed, because he changed the subject quickly.

"So, ah…I heard you brought rock n' roll back! I _told_ Meat you were the Dreamer, but she just wouldn't believe me. Poor thing, probably still thinks I'm dead. I haven't been able to find her anywhere, is she off with Scara somewhere?"

Ignoring his question, Gaz plainly asked, "What happened to you?"

With a sigh, Brit explained. "Those laser guns Globalsoft had? Turns out computers really aren't all that great—but we knew that already. Instead of killing people, there was a glitch with the strength of the laser—luckily. Now, I'm no expert, but since I woke up yesterday I'm guessing it sends you into a deep, deep sleep. It's really just like rock n' roll, but you've already got that one taken care of."

"Wow…well, good thing you're not dead. And if it helps, I think Meat's gone with Mads to go bug Macca for some serious caffeine. That being said, you might not wanna go find her right now until she's had time to, er, recuperate. By the way, I guess you haven't seen Scara anywhere?" The look on Brit's face showed that he obviously hadn't been awake long enough yet to know about caffeine, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Nah, I figured she was with Meat if she wasn't here. You're the first one I've run into that I recognized so far. What _is_ it with all these newbies? I walked from the entrance to here, and not one person asked how I got here until you did. I could've been an SP, or Khashoggi in disguise, or—"

"Khashoggi's actually on our side now," Galileo cut him off.

Brit's eyes widened in shock. "That…how…_why_ would he…? Like I was saying, we need to up the security around here. Sooner or later Globalsoft will notice that their guns aren't working properly, and they'll fix it. We've gotta make sure that doesn't happen here again."

Galileo didn't want to get into a Globalsoft discussion. He figured he'd let someone else fill Brit in about everything later, because right now, he was too preoccupied thinking about Scara and Corey. "You know Brit? Maybe you should go find Meat. She'll probably forget all about her caffeine high the second she sees you," he turned to his bed. "I think I'm gonna get some sleep. I've had too many words going through my head, you know?"

Brit, of course, didn't know exactly how Galileo felt, seeing as he wasn't the Dreamer. He just smiled and nodded, and went off to go find Meat.

Sighing, Gaz was left alone with his thoughts again. He didn't _want_ to be alone though; he wanted to be with Scaramouche, more than anything. He reached into the drawer of his bedside table and pulled out the box again.

Scara was good at hiding things. She wasn't very good at hiding the fact that she was hiding something, but it was impossible to find out exactly what it was she was hiding. Could Scara be cheating on him? No, it couldn't happen. It _shouldn't_ happen, anyways. The question still stayed in Galileo's head: _What was she doing with Corey?_ Maybe it was some weird girl thing. Maybe that's why she only told Meat, and not him.

Or maybe, maybe it was something that would hurt him if he knew.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Alright, so I know I haven't added to this in about forever. I had a nice notebook with pages written up with exactly how I wanted the story to go, character development, etc, etc, etc. Of course, I did the sensible thing: I saw it a while ago, threw it somewhere, and now I don't remember if I kept the pages or recycled them. Auughhh.**

**Oddly enough, I've been getting messages every few weeks or so for people asking me to continue this. Being in the middle of writing literary essays for scholarships (when science is really my essay forte), I decided it was time for a change in pace. Screw comparing relationships, sociological differences, philosophical views from the 1800s—I'm writing this !**

**I've actually had this chapter written for about a year, but I reread it and realized that wow, it really sucked. I've sort of forgotten exactly where I'm going with this fic, but eh, I'll shut my mouth now.**

Brit half ran, half walked down the hallways of the Heartbreak Hotel in search of Meat. On his way he ran past Scaramouche talking quietly with some short guy with blond hair. Not paying much attention to them, his pace quickened to a sprint when he heard traces of Meat's voice. Scara, on the other hand, nearly passed out when she saw the now un-dead Bohemian. After gaping wordlessly for a few seconds, she turned to Corey.

"Did you see that guy? Oh God, don't tell me Gaz's madness is getting to me…_was_ I hallucinating?" She spoke quietly, more to herself than to anyone else. Her eyes still wide with shock.

Obviously nobody had told Corey about Brit; at least, not that he was dead. He found it odd that Sam—no, she was Scaramouche now—was so amazed by the tall guy in torn clothes running through the halls. There certainly wasn't anything different that he could see about him. "Uh, no, you weren't. But why are you…" Corey's voiced trailed off as Scara started bolting after the man. For a small person, she could move faster than most of the other Bohemians.

She screeched into a halt when she went around a corner to see Brit standing behind a wall, obviously listening to the conversation between Meat and Madonna in the next room. He saw Scara's mouth start to open, and quickly held his hand over her mouth and motioned for her to listen. Not being too happy with having to be quiet, Scara sulked for a few seconds and started listening to what Mads was saying.

"I didn't say you _have_ to start dating again, hon. I just said that you should _think_ about. I mean, it's been a month since the…well, not accident…since the incident. Face it: you're gorgeous, and you're miserable when you're single. Remember how happy you were when ya had Brit? And I think Khashoggi's got a bit of a liking to you."

Brit's expression went from alarmed to enraged. This _thing_ that tried to kill him was now after his girlfriend? And was Madonna implying that Khashoggi could make Meat as happy as she was with Brit? Scaramouche shifted uncomfortably. All of the Bohemians knew about Khashoggi's feelings for Meat. They listened closely to the silence on the other side of the wall. Finally, Meat let out a sigh.

"That was Brit, though," her familiar Scottish accent spoke the words Brit needed to hear. "And Khashoggi? He killed him. He _killed_ him, Mads. He killed the person who kept me alive, who gave me hope, who I loved. If I killed Charlotte, would you go around and start dating me? I don't think so, now. _Maybe_ someday I'll find someone again, but I haven't yet. I just wish Brit were here…all he ever wanted was for the world to be free, and now he's missing it…I just…" she choked back a sob, and took a deep breath. "I miss him _so much_, and I'm never gonna get to see him again but—"

That was all Brit needed to hear. He burst into the room, closely followed by Scaramouche. Meat screamed and passed out onto the hard cement floor. Despite the looks of surprise and curiosity coming from Scara and Madonna, he rushed over to her and held her close. The room was deathly quiet for a few minutes until Scara started with the questions, assuming she was allowed to talk again.

"Where did _you_ come from? I think you're gonna need some new clothes. Being dead can do that to you. How'd you get here, anyways? How long have you been here for? When did you not die? What's that weird smell? Does anyone else know you're here?"

Brit cut her off before she could ask anything else. "Long story short, a glitch with the laser guns makes them only send you into a deep sleep. I was never dead, and what weird smell? I bumped into Galileo—he's looking for you—and told him about everything." He looked up at Mads. "And _why_, for God's sake, _why_ were you trying to get Meat together with Khashoggi?"

Madonna's face started turning pink. "I, ah, need to go get something…" She ran off, muttering about zombie Bohemians and knitted socks.

Glaring at her retreating back, Brit turned his attention back to Meat when he heard a soft moan. "Meat? Meat, baby, can you hear me? It's me, Brit."

After a few seconds, Meat's eyes fluttered open. "Am I…dead?" Scaramouche started to laugh, but quickly covered it up with a cough. Meat struggled to sit up and touched Brit's face. "You're really there…" her voice was soft, as if she was in a trance.

Brit's face broke into a huge grin. "I'm really here, babe. I _told _you I'd always come back, and here I am," he said, feeling rather pleased with himself. He quickly explained exactly what had happened, before Meat could pass out again.

"Well then," Meat grinned as she was getting her old spunk back. "Don't just stand there…fandango me!" She pulled Brit down onto the coach, laughing wildly. The two seemed to forget that Scara was still standing there.

"Eugh, get a room!" Scara rolled her eyes and gave them a disgusted glare.

"We've got one, hen! You're just in it," Meat arched an eyebrow and tilted her head to the door. With a final "eugh," Scaramouche ran for the door, running straight into Gaz.

"You might not wanna go in there," she warned. Looking up into Galileo's eyes, she could tell something was wrong. Instead of having their usual far-away, dreamy look, they were piercing right into her eyes, like he had gone right through into her soul. It was as though he was trying to read her; to see exactly what was going on in her mind. Or maybe they were searching for truths. Scara started feeling uncomfortable…Meat couldn't have told him, but there was no way he could tell what was happening. She knew he'd find out soon enough; it was only a matter of time before it would be impossible to hide.

"Scara?" Gaz was cutting into her thoughts now. "Scara, we need to talk. C'mon baby," he flinched as a way to brace himself for the tongue-lashing that was bound to follow. Surprisingly, Scara didn't react to the name this time; something must be very, very wrong.

Scaramouche numbly followed him to their room, lost in her thoughts. Meat would never tell him something this important, without Scara telling her to…would she? Maybe if there was a caffeine shortage and she was being bribed with chocolate-coated coffee beans…nah, she wouldn't do it. Did Corey tell him? Corey, the one Scara could count on ever since she could remember…he wouldn't have told him…right? No, that was silly. Corey didn't know anything about Gaz, aside from that he heard voices in his head. Maybe she should tell Gaz. She knew he would be hurt when he found out, simply because she didn't tell him sooner. If someone else had told him what was going on…Scara didn't want to think of it.

Scara went into their room and sat down on the bed, still lost in thought. Gaz locked the door and sat close next to her, wrapping her in his arms. They sat like that for a while, enjoying each other's company for the first time in a few weeks.

Galileo was the first to break the silence. "Scara," he started. "You know you can tell me anything that's on your mind, don't you?" He watched her as she fiddled with the ripped sleeve of her sweater. "C'mon, I know there's something."

Sighing, Scaramouche started to talk. "Well, see Shagileo, Meat and I were…ah…we were planning a surprise party for you. For your birthday. And for saving rock. You know, because you're amazing and you deserve it and—shit, look at the time. I'm supposed to go meet up with the girls." She planted a kiss on his mouth and started out of the room.

Gaz cried out after her. "But my birthday's not for another five months!"

"More time to prepare! Remember, you're not supposed to know, Meat will kill me," she replied over her shoulder. She slammed their door and took off running down the corridor.

Gaz pulled his legs in closer, hugging his knees. He wanted to cry, a feeling he hadn't had in months, maybe years. It was obvious to anyone with ears or eyes that Scara was lying to him. She hated parties. She hated birthdays. She didn't even know when his birthday was—the subject had never really come up. He reached into his drawer and pulled out the velvet box, like he did whenever he was feeling lonely. This was becoming increasingly common. Staring at the ring, he felt a tear slide down his cheek. Maybe if he asked Scaramouche to marry him today, she would be so overcome with love that she'd tell him everything. Then again, maybe if he asked her today, she'd get mad about him prying into her life and refuse him and leave him and run off with Khashoggi and restart Globalsoft and—

He put the box away. _Maybe tomorrow._


End file.
